The FAA is correcting a final rule published on May 28, 2010. In that rule, the FAA amended its regulations by adding equipage requirements and performance standards for Automatic Dependent Surveillance—Broadcast (ADS-B) Out avionics on aircraft operating in Classes A, B, and C airspace, as well as other specified classes of airspace within the U.S. National Airspace System (NAS). This document corrects errors in regulatory provisions addressing ADS-B Out equipment and use.

2015-02-04; vol. 80 # 23 - Wednesday, February 4, 2015

80 FR 5918 - Removal of Special Federal Aviation Regulation No. 87—Prohibition Against Certain Flights Within the Territory and Airspace of Ethiopia

This action removes the prohibition against certain flights within the territory and airspace of Ethiopia contained in Special Federal Aviation Regulation (SFAR) No. 87 from the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). The prohibition only applied to flight operations within the territory and airspace of Ethiopia north of 12 degrees north latitude conducted by United States (U.S.) air carriers or commercial operators; persons exercising the privileges of an airman certificate issued by the FAA, unless that person was engaged in the operation of a U.S.-registered aircraft for a foreign air carrier; and operators using an aircraft registered in the United States, except where the operator of such aircraft was a foreign air carrier. The FAA has now determined that the safety and security situation that prompted the above flight prohibition has significantly improved, and that it is safe for U.S. civil flights to be operated within the entire territory and airspace of Ethiopia, subject to the approval of and in accordance with the conditions established by the appropriate authorities of Ethiopia.

This final rule is effective on December 30, 2014, and remains in effect through December 30, 2016.

14 CFR Part 91

Summary

This action prohibits certain flight operations in the Damascus (OSTT) Flight Information Region (FIR) by all U.S. air carriers; U.S. commercial operators; persons exercising the privileges of a U.S. airman certificate, except when such persons are operating a U.S.-registered aircraft for a foreign air carrier; and operators of U.S.-registered civil aircraft, except when such operators are foreign air carriers. The FAA previously prohibited such flight operations in a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) 4/4936, which was issued on August 18, 2014, and absent this rule, would have remained in effect until December 31, 2014. This Special Federal Aviation Regulation (SFAR) adopts the prohibitions currently in effect via the NOTAM, and requires compliance with the prohibitions for 2 years from the date of publication of this final rule, unless the FAA determines that it is necessary to amend or rescind this rule based on the situation in the region. The FAA finds that this action is necessary to address a potential hazard to persons and aircraft engaged in such flight operations.

This action amends Special Federal Aviation Regulation (SFAR) No. 113, “Prohibition Against Certain Flights in the Simferopol (UKFV) Flight Information Region (FIR),” which prohibited certain flight operations in a portion of the Simferopol (UKFV) FIR by all U.S. air carriers; U.S. commercial operators; persons exercising the privileges of a U.S. airman certificate, except when such persons are operating a U.S.-registered aircraft for a foreign air carrier; and operators of U.S.-registered civil aircraft, except when such operators are foreign air carriers. This action expands the area in which flight operations by persons subject to SFAR No. 113 are prohibited, to include all of the Simferopol (UKFV) FIR, as well as the entire Dnipropetrovsk (UKDV) FIR. The FAA finds this action to be necessary to prevent a potential hazard to persons and aircraft engaged in such flight operations.

This action amends the Appendix listing airports/locations with special operating restrictions in FAA's general operating and flight rules. Specifically, this action adds an additional entry for Houston, TX (William P. Hobby Airport), and San Diego, CA (Marine Corps Air Station Miramar), to the Appendix, which lists the airports where aircraft operating within 30 nautical miles (NM) of the listed airports, from the surface upward to 10,000 feet mean sea level (MSL) must be equipped with an altitude encoding transponder. The FAA is taking this action to correctly identify applicable airports under the appropriate sections in the Appendix.

The FAA is correcting a final rule published on February 21, 2014. In that rule, the FAA amended its regulations to revise the helicopter air ambulance, commercial helicopter, and general aviation helicopter operating requirements. This document corrects errors in the codified text of that document.

Effective June 23, 2014. Comments must be received on or before July 25, 2014.

14 CFR Part 91

Summary

This action provides interested persons with the opportunity to comment on the FAA's interpretation of the special rule for model aircraft established by Congress in the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012. In this interpretation, the FAA clarifies that: Model aircraft must satisfy the criteria in the Act to qualify as model aircraft and to be exempt from future FAA rulemaking action; and consistent with the Act, if a model aircraft operator endangers the safety of the National Airspace System, the FAA has the authority to take enforcement action against those operators for those safety violations.

2014-05-20; vol. 79 # 97 - Tuesday, May 20, 2014

79 FR 28811 - Additional Types of Child Restraint That May Be Furnished and Used on Aircraft; Technical Amendment

The FAA is amending regulations relating to the label required for FAA approved child restraint systems onboard aircraft. This final rule corrects minor technical errors in the codified regulations and updates a cross-reference.

This final rule is effective on April 25, 2014, and remains in effect through April 27, 2015.

14 CFR Part 91

Summary

This action prohibits certain flight operations in a portion of the Simferopol (UKFV) Flight Information Region (FIR) by all U.S. air carriers; U.S. commercial operators; persons exercising the privileges of a U.S. airman certificate, except when such persons are operating a U.S.-registered aircraft for a foreign air carrier; and operators of U.S.-registered civil aircraft, except when such operators are foreign air carriers. The FAA finds this action to be necessary to prevent a potential hazard to persons and aircraft engaged in such flight operations.

2014-04-21; vol. 79 # 76 - Monday, April 21, 2014

79 FR 22009 - Extension of Effective Date for the Helicopter Air Ambulance, Commercial Helicopter, and Part 91 Helicopter Operations Final Rule

The effective date of the rule amending 14 CFR Parts 91, 120, and 135 published February 21, 2014 (79 FR 9932), is delayed until April 22, 2015. The amendment to § 135.293 in this document is effective April 22, 2015. Submit comments on or before May 21, 2014.

14 CFR Parts 91, 120, and 135

Summary

The FAA is delaying the effective date of the Helicopter Air Ambulance, Commercial Helicopter, and Part 91 Helicopter Operations final rule published on February 21, 2014. In that rule, the FAA amended its regulations to revise the helicopter air ambulance, commercial helicopter, and general aviation helicopter operating requirements. The April 22, 2014 effective date does not provide an adequate amount of time for the affected certificate holders to implement the new requirements. By extending the effective date to April 22, 2015, the affected certificate holders will have sufficient time to implement the new requirements. This action will only affect the effective date of the provisions of the rule scheduled to take effect April 22, 2014. Other provisions in the rule with specified compliance dates will not be affected.

The FAA is correcting a final rule published on March 21, 2014. In that final rule, the FAA amended its regulations to extend the prohibition against certain flights within the Tripoli Flight Information Region from March 21, 2014 to March 21, 2015. The FAA inadvertently cited an incorrect RIN number. This document corrects that error and also corrects an inadvertent amendment.

In this action, amendment 2 to § 91.1603 is effective March 21, 2014. Amendment 3 to § 91.1603 is effective March 20, 2015. SFAR 112 (14 CFR 91.1603), published at 76 FR 16236 (March 23, 2011) and scheduled to expire on March 21, 2014, will remain in effect. The expiration date is extended until March 20, 2015.

14 CFR Part 91

Summary

This action extends the prohibition of flight operations within the Tripoli Flight Information Region (FIR) by all U.S. air carriers; U.S. commercial operators; persons exercising the privileges of an airman certificate issued by the FAA, except when such persons are operating a U.S.-registered aircraft for a foreign air carrier; and operators of U.S.-registered civil aircraft, except operators of such aircraft that are foreign air carriers. The extension of the expiration date is necessary to prevent a potential hazard to persons and aircraft engaged in such flight operations while the FAA evaluates whether any amendments to the regulation would be appropriate, given current conditions in Libya.

This rule is effective April 22, 2014. Affected parties, however, do not have to comply with the information collection requirements in §§ 120.105(i), 120.215(a)(9), 135.615, 135.617, 135.619, and 135.621 until the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approves the collection and assigns a control number under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. The FAA will publish in the Federal Register a notice of the control number assigned by OMB for these information collection requirements. The incorporation by reference of certain publications listed in §§ 135.168 and 135.605 is approved by the Director of the Federal Register as of April 22, 2014.

14 CFR Parts 91, 120, and 135

Summary

This final rule addresses helicopter air ambulance, commercial helicopter, and general aviation helicopter operations. To address an increase in fatal helicopter air ambulance accidents, the FAA is implementing new operational procedures and additional equipment requirements for helicopter air ambulance operations. This final rule also increases safety for commercial helicopter operations by revising requirements for equipment, pilot testing, and alternate airports. It increases weather minimums for all general aviation helicopter operations. Many of these requirements address National Transportation Safety Board safety recommendations, and are already found in FAA guidance. Today's changes are intended to provide certificate holders and pilots with additional tools and procedures that will aid in preventing accidents.

On December 31, 2012, the FAA published a final rule with a request for comments amending the operating regulations for flight data recorders by correcting errors in recording rates in three different appendices. These errors created requirements that could not be met by certain airplanes without extensive modification, which was not intended when the requirements were adopted. The corrected recording rates are as intended when the applicable flight data recorder parameter requirements were adopted, but which had been omitted from the then current publication of the regulatory text.

This is a list of United States Code sections, Statutes at Large, Public Laws, and Presidential Documents, which provide rulemaking authority for this CFR Part.

The FAA is proposing to amend its regulations to adopt specific rules to allow the operation of small unmanned aircraft systems in the National Airspace System. These changes would address the operation of unmanned aircraft systems, certification of their operators, registration, and display of registration markings. The proposed rule would also find that airworthiness certification is not required for small unmanned aircraft system operations that would be subject to this proposed rule. Lastly, the proposed rule would prohibit model aircraft from endangering the safety of the National Airspace System.

The FAA is correcting a final rule published on May 28, 2010. In that rule, the FAA amended its regulations by adding equipage requirements and performance standards for Automatic Dependent Surveillance—Broadcast (ADS-B) Out avionics on aircraft operating in Classes A, B, and C airspace, as well as other specified classes of airspace within the U.S. National Airspace System (NAS). This document corrects errors in regulatory provisions addressing ADS-B Out equipment and use.

2015-02-04; vol. 80 # 23 - Wednesday, February 4, 2015

80 FR 5918 - Removal of Special Federal Aviation Regulation No. 87—Prohibition Against Certain Flights Within the Territory and Airspace of Ethiopia

This action removes the prohibition against certain flights within the territory and airspace of Ethiopia contained in Special Federal Aviation Regulation (SFAR) No. 87 from the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). The prohibition only applied to flight operations within the territory and airspace of Ethiopia north of 12 degrees north latitude conducted by United States (U.S.) air carriers or commercial operators; persons exercising the privileges of an airman certificate issued by the FAA, unless that person was engaged in the operation of a U.S.-registered aircraft for a foreign air carrier; and operators using an aircraft registered in the United States, except where the operator of such aircraft was a foreign air carrier. The FAA has now determined that the safety and security situation that prompted the above flight prohibition has significantly improved, and that it is safe for U.S. civil flights to be operated within the entire territory and airspace of Ethiopia, subject to the approval of and in accordance with the conditions established by the appropriate authorities of Ethiopia.

This final rule is effective on December 30, 2014, and remains in effect through December 30, 2016.

14 CFR Part 91

Summary

This action prohibits certain flight operations in the Damascus (OSTT) Flight Information Region (FIR) by all U.S. air carriers; U.S. commercial operators; persons exercising the privileges of a U.S. airman certificate, except when such persons are operating a U.S.-registered aircraft for a foreign air carrier; and operators of U.S.-registered civil aircraft, except when such operators are foreign air carriers. The FAA previously prohibited such flight operations in a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) 4/4936, which was issued on August 18, 2014, and absent this rule, would have remained in effect until December 31, 2014. This Special Federal Aviation Regulation (SFAR) adopts the prohibitions currently in effect via the NOTAM, and requires compliance with the prohibitions for 2 years from the date of publication of this final rule, unless the FAA determines that it is necessary to amend or rescind this rule based on the situation in the region. The FAA finds that this action is necessary to address a potential hazard to persons and aircraft engaged in such flight operations.

This action amends Special Federal Aviation Regulation (SFAR) No. 113, “Prohibition Against Certain Flights in the Simferopol (UKFV) Flight Information Region (FIR),” which prohibited certain flight operations in a portion of the Simferopol (UKFV) FIR by all U.S. air carriers; U.S. commercial operators; persons exercising the privileges of a U.S. airman certificate, except when such persons are operating a U.S.-registered aircraft for a foreign air carrier; and operators of U.S.-registered civil aircraft, except when such operators are foreign air carriers. This action expands the area in which flight operations by persons subject to SFAR No. 113 are prohibited, to include all of the Simferopol (UKFV) FIR, as well as the entire Dnipropetrovsk (UKDV) FIR. The FAA finds this action to be necessary to prevent a potential hazard to persons and aircraft engaged in such flight operations.

This action amends the Appendix listing airports/locations with special operating restrictions in FAA's general operating and flight rules. Specifically, this action adds an additional entry for Houston, TX (William P. Hobby Airport), and San Diego, CA (Marine Corps Air Station Miramar), to the Appendix, which lists the airports where aircraft operating within 30 nautical miles (NM) of the listed airports, from the surface upward to 10,000 feet mean sea level (MSL) must be equipped with an altitude encoding transponder. The FAA is taking this action to correctly identify applicable airports under the appropriate sections in the Appendix.

The FAA is correcting a final rule published on February 21, 2014. In that rule, the FAA amended its regulations to revise the helicopter air ambulance, commercial helicopter, and general aviation helicopter operating requirements. This document corrects errors in the codified text of that document.

Effective June 23, 2014. Comments must be received on or before July 25, 2014.

14 CFR Part 91

Summary

This action provides interested persons with the opportunity to comment on the FAA's interpretation of the special rule for model aircraft established by Congress in the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012. In this interpretation, the FAA clarifies that: Model aircraft must satisfy the criteria in the Act to qualify as model aircraft and to be exempt from future FAA rulemaking action; and consistent with the Act, if a model aircraft operator endangers the safety of the National Airspace System, the FAA has the authority to take enforcement action against those operators for those safety violations.

2014-05-20; vol. 79 # 97 - Tuesday, May 20, 2014

79 FR 28811 - Additional Types of Child Restraint That May Be Furnished and Used on Aircraft; Technical Amendment

The FAA is amending regulations relating to the label required for FAA approved child restraint systems onboard aircraft. This final rule corrects minor technical errors in the codified regulations and updates a cross-reference.

This final rule is effective on April 25, 2014, and remains in effect through April 27, 2015.

14 CFR Part 91

Summary

This action prohibits certain flight operations in a portion of the Simferopol (UKFV) Flight Information Region (FIR) by all U.S. air carriers; U.S. commercial operators; persons exercising the privileges of a U.S. airman certificate, except when such persons are operating a U.S.-registered aircraft for a foreign air carrier; and operators of U.S.-registered civil aircraft, except when such operators are foreign air carriers. The FAA finds this action to be necessary to prevent a potential hazard to persons and aircraft engaged in such flight operations.

2014-04-21; vol. 79 # 76 - Monday, April 21, 2014

79 FR 22009 - Extension of Effective Date for the Helicopter Air Ambulance, Commercial Helicopter, and Part 91 Helicopter Operations Final Rule

The effective date of the rule amending 14 CFR Parts 91, 120, and 135 published February 21, 2014 (79 FR 9932), is delayed until April 22, 2015. The amendment to § 135.293 in this document is effective April 22, 2015. Submit comments on or before May 21, 2014.

14 CFR Parts 91, 120, and 135

Summary

The FAA is delaying the effective date of the Helicopter Air Ambulance, Commercial Helicopter, and Part 91 Helicopter Operations final rule published on February 21, 2014. In that rule, the FAA amended its regulations to revise the helicopter air ambulance, commercial helicopter, and general aviation helicopter operating requirements. The April 22, 2014 effective date does not provide an adequate amount of time for the affected certificate holders to implement the new requirements. By extending the effective date to April 22, 2015, the affected certificate holders will have sufficient time to implement the new requirements. This action will only affect the effective date of the provisions of the rule scheduled to take effect April 22, 2014. Other provisions in the rule with specified compliance dates will not be affected.

The FAA is correcting a final rule published on March 21, 2014. In that final rule, the FAA amended its regulations to extend the prohibition against certain flights within the Tripoli Flight Information Region from March 21, 2014 to March 21, 2015. The FAA inadvertently cited an incorrect RIN number. This document corrects that error and also corrects an inadvertent amendment.

In this action, amendment 2 to § 91.1603 is effective March 21, 2014. Amendment 3 to § 91.1603 is effective March 20, 2015. SFAR 112 (14 CFR 91.1603), published at 76 FR 16236 (March 23, 2011) and scheduled to expire on March 21, 2014, will remain in effect. The expiration date is extended until March 20, 2015.

14 CFR Part 91

Summary

This action extends the prohibition of flight operations within the Tripoli Flight Information Region (FIR) by all U.S. air carriers; U.S. commercial operators; persons exercising the privileges of an airman certificate issued by the FAA, except when such persons are operating a U.S.-registered aircraft for a foreign air carrier; and operators of U.S.-registered civil aircraft, except operators of such aircraft that are foreign air carriers. The extension of the expiration date is necessary to prevent a potential hazard to persons and aircraft engaged in such flight operations while the FAA evaluates whether any amendments to the regulation would be appropriate, given current conditions in Libya.

This rule is effective April 22, 2014. Affected parties, however, do not have to comply with the information collection requirements in §§ 120.105(i), 120.215(a)(9), 135.615, 135.617, 135.619, and 135.621 until the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approves the collection and assigns a control number under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. The FAA will publish in the Federal Register a notice of the control number assigned by OMB for these information collection requirements. The incorporation by reference of certain publications listed in §§ 135.168 and 135.605 is approved by the Director of the Federal Register as of April 22, 2014.

14 CFR Parts 91, 120, and 135

Summary

This final rule addresses helicopter air ambulance, commercial helicopter, and general aviation helicopter operations. To address an increase in fatal helicopter air ambulance accidents, the FAA is implementing new operational procedures and additional equipment requirements for helicopter air ambulance operations. This final rule also increases safety for commercial helicopter operations by revising requirements for equipment, pilot testing, and alternate airports. It increases weather minimums for all general aviation helicopter operations. Many of these requirements address National Transportation Safety Board safety recommendations, and are already found in FAA guidance. Today's changes are intended to provide certificate holders and pilots with additional tools and procedures that will aid in preventing accidents.

On December 31, 2012, the FAA published a final rule with a request for comments amending the operating regulations for flight data recorders by correcting errors in recording rates in three different appendices. These errors created requirements that could not be met by certain airplanes without extensive modification, which was not intended when the requirements were adopted. The corrected recording rates are as intended when the applicable flight data recorder parameter requirements were adopted, but which had been omitted from the then current publication of the regulatory text.